AARP’s 21 Sexiest Men Over 50

Blair, Brad, Jimmy and other stars who make our hearts beat faster

George Clooney

It was a bummer for many single ladies when the world’s most drool-worthy bachelor married leggy lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014. The talented actor — who manages to look even sexier with gray hair — is No. 1 in our book.

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Denzel Washington

Born: Dec. 28, 1954

The A-list Oscar winner, crowned People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1996, has lost none of his heat (even with that Old West mustache he grew for the upcoming remake of TheMagnificent Seven).

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Brad Pitt

Born: Dec. 18, 1963

Unforgettable as the outlaw hitchhiker in his first big movie, 1991’s Thelma & Louise, Pitt is simply gorgeous — and generous. He and wife Angelina Jolie donate millions to charities worldwide.

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Robert Downey Jr.

Born: April 4, 1965

The Iron Man star is mesmerizing on-screen, due in part to his intensity. As one Washington Post writer put it: He “radiates the tangled electricity of a man who could make an emotional connection with a lamppost.”

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Kevin Bacon

Born: July 8, 1958

Long married to actress Kyra Sedgwick, the actor has hardly seemed to age since bringing dance to the heartland in 1984’s Footloose. And you gotta love his ads for the American Egg Board. (Get it? Eggs with Bacon.)

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Jimmy Smits

Born: July 9, 1955

Famous for his work on L.A. Law,NYPD Blue and The West Wing, Smits more recently played a seductive bad guy on TV’s Sons of Anarchy. He aced the role of Nero Padilla, a heavily-tattooed pimp.

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Jeff Bridges

Born: Dec. 4, 1949

TheBig Lebowski icon is an all-around cool guy: He’s a musician, one of the least self-absorbed stars in Hollywood and a family man who’s been married to his wife, Susan, since 1977. “The Dude” abides.

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Jon Bon Jovi

Born: March 2, 1962

His namesake band’s megahit album Slippery When Wet came out in 1986, and the Jersey boy is still packing stadiums (and still married to his high school sweetheart) 30 years later. Bonus: He no longer has big hair.

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Liam Neeson

Born: June 7, 1952

The actor who often stars in action flicks is, as Time magazine once put it, “a mature, real man in an era of superhero fantasy.” And he has a lovely Irish accent and gorgeous blue eyes to boot.

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Lenny Kravitz

Born: May 26, 1964

Kravitz is an electrifying funk-rock musician and sometime actor (The Hunger Games and Precious). He also happens to have spectacular pecs, shown off on the cover of his 2014 album Strut.

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Antonio Banderas

Born: Aug. 10, 1960

The Spanish-born heartthrob, famous for films such as 1995’s Desperado and 1996’s Evita, continues to throb many hearts — minus one. He and Melanie Griffith split in 2014 after 18 years together.

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Daniel Day-Lewis

Born: April 29, 1957

It’s easy to fall for this masterful actor, winner of no less than three best actor Oscars — not to mention his lyrical Irish-English accent and the soulful intelligence he projects on- and off-screen.

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Blair Underwood

Born: Aug. 25, 1964

Known for roles on TV’s L.A. Law and In Treatment, he’s also generous to many charities — inspiring one fan to post on Facebook: “Your hotness is just a bonus to your beautiful soul and humanitarianism.”

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Alan Jackson

Born: Oct. 17, 1958

The beloved traditional country star has sold gazillions of records since his first, 1990’s Here in the Real World, and is “liked” (alas, there’s no “love” option) by some 4.5 million Facebook fans.

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Bruce Springsteen

Born: Sept. 23, 1949

Rock’s incomparable troubadour for working-class America, “The Boss” is still on fire — performing his legendary marathon shows and countless good works. What’s not to love?

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Christopher Meloni

Born: April 2, 1961

Perhaps his isn’t yet a household name, but fans of Law & Order: SVU and Oz can attest that Meloni’s one of the hottest stars around. He even looked good with fangs during his stint on True Blood as Roman the vampire.

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Ken Watanabe

Born: Oct. 21, 1959

The Last Samurai actor is respected on both sides of the Pacific. Later this year he’ll costar in The Sea of Trees, set in his homeland of Japan. Watanabe has said, “I have no sense of myself as a sex symbol at all” — but fans beg to differ.

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Pierce Brosnan

Born: May 16, 1953

Having starred as James Bond on the big screen and Remington Steele on the small screen, this striking Irish actor is also a painter and a save-the-whales activist. In 2014, he revealed to GQ the words he lives by: “Be kind. Be good.”

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Mark Harmon

Born: Sept. 2, 1951

It’s hard to believe that the NCIS star, long married to Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy), is in his 60s. Famously humble, he’s a real-life hero: He once rescued two teens from a burning car that crashed near his home.

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Michael Jordan

Born: Feb. 17, 1963

Many say he’s the greatest basketball player of all time, but MJ’s also one of the world’s best pitchmen: The guy could sell ice to an Eskimo. He married model Yvette Prieto in 2013 and now is the dad of young twin daughters.

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Richard Gere

Born: Aug. 31, 1949

He’s been on countless “sexiest men” lists since Looking for Mr. Goodbar hit theaters in 1977. But Gere once laughed when a reporter asked about his sex-symbol status. “I always thought it was silly,” he said.